Posts tagged: #Himalayas

After the Sino-Indian war of 1962, a remote valley of Uttarakhand was abandoned and so was the ancient silk route to Tibet. Read more about it in my latest photo story. Special thanks to Ellie Cobb and Anne Banas for refining it. Link http://www.bbc.com/travel/gallery/20160831-a-new-trade-on-the-ancient-silk-routeRead more

NOTE – Please mind any errors. There is a reason I am a photographer not a writer. It was 2009. The newspaper had a piece about the remotest region of Shimla. The motor-able road from Rohru to Dodra Kwar was now open and the government was starting a daily bus service to this remote valley. So, I along with three of my friends decided to take that bus to Chanshal Pass (3750m) and camp there. Having no idea how camping works, our campingRead more

Six years back we reached this small village right next to Tso-Moriri Lake — 15000ft above the sea level — about 215kms from Leh. This place is known for the monastery that I had never heard of. Residents belong to the Changpa Tribe and are mostly info farming and rearing livestock that includes famous Pashmina goats. Here are some of the pictures. Hope you like them. Please feel free to share the link but kindly don’t save and upload theseRead more

I can’t believe it was six years back when I first got to experience Ladakh. We flew to Leh. Hired a bike. Travelled 190kms to this blue lake someone was talking about there. These are some of the pictures.Read more

I am sharing with you a link to the travel story about our winter drive to Pangi that I did for BBC Travel recently. You can read the full article and also the video on BBC with the following link. http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160401-a-perilous-ride-to-a-remote-valleyRead more

In early November we drove to Pangi valley via Kashmir and these are some pictures from our drive. Day 1 – From Shimla to Kihar Full day of driving from Shimla to Kihar in Chamba. Day 2 – Kihar – Doda – Kishtwar – Killar We entered Doda district via Padri Jot and then crossed the beautiful region of Kishtwar. After Kishtwar, the roads had multiple landslides till Gulabgarh. From there we reached Ishtiyari and then crossed the famous 5-7km patch of the most dangerous road inRead more

As the winter welcomed spring, and the snow started melting during the daytime, I woke up in a small guest room at Komic monastery, 4500m above sea level. My wrist watch kept on the side table displayed -6˚C and the blue water bottle, kept right next to it was full of ice. I reached for my boots, then struggled to put them on and after 15 minutes of trying to sqeeze my feet in the shoe, I gave up. They were frozen solid as I forgotRead more

On 1st November, we started our journey from Shimla to the remotest valley of Himachal – Pangi valley in Chamba district. The shortest road, via Saach pass, that connects Pangi to the rest of the world opens for just a few months and it was already closed. So this was the only road open for the people of Pangi. We reached Kihar in Chamba at the end of a day full of driving and then started early to reach Killar,Read more

“So I have two mountain bikes”, said Mr. Tsering Bodh, “You can take them and reach this beautiful village called Langza the first day and from there you can move ahead to Komic the second day and then you can decide if you want to come back via Hikkim or continue ahead to Demul and then reach back to Kaza.” This casual conversation was happening in the dim lit lobby of Sakya Abode in the month of October two years back. ARead more

Two years back me and my friend drove across Kinnaur to reach the high mountains of Spiti. After crossing the river at Sumdo few hours after Malling and Chango, the last villages of Kinnaur, the sense of approaching a different land is quite prominent. Rudyard Kipling in kim felt the same and wrote this. “Surely the Gods live here. Beaten down by the silence and the appalling sweep of dispersal of the cloud-shadows after rain. This place is no placeRead more

Max Bearak and I are on a month-long journey through Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Meghalaya, documenting cultural and environmental transformation in the region. Max is a journalist with The New York Times based in Delhi. Look out for his articles with my pictures on the NYT’s World section in the coming month. This is the first guest post on my blog – hope you enjoy. December 17th, 2013 DIBANG VALLEY, ARUNACHAL PRADESH – Ninety kilometers of a rutted road andRead more

17th January, 2013 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India After a month of clear sunny days, it was raining when I got up. I trusted the weather gods and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute for a day long snowfall. They were right and it was beautiful. So, here are some pictures for those who missed it. I would also like to thank my friend, Aasheesh Mehta who saved me and my camera with his umbrella while I was shooting in the blizzard, during theRead more